Gun stores closing due to lack of ammunition to sell

For months, many Tennessee gun owners have had a hard time finding ammunition for their weapons. Now, some gun stores say a nationwide ammo shortage is pushing them out of business.

Just a few months ago, Bellevue's Guns and Ammo Depot couldn't keep bullets on its shelves because it simply couldn't get enough supply to sell.

Now, the store is closed, and the sign on the front of the building is gone. Former owner Glen King said he went out of business because of the ammunition shortage.

"It was costing us more to stay open than what it was for us to, you know - we couldn't make any money at all," King said.

The shipments are pouring in at Brentwood's Everything Weapons, where bullets are plentiful, but owner David Cooper admits he's the rare exception.

"People come here from other states, and they buy everything they can, because there's nothing in their states," Cooper said.

And the pinch isn't limited to the mom-and-pop stores.

"The big box stores limit to one or two boxes. Walmart will get in some ammunition and it gets bought up right away," Cooper said.

In Tennessee, the number of stores that sell ammunition is actually up by about 5 percent, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirms several of those that have gone under weren't able to meet their customers' demands.

"It's run the small business owner out of business," King said.

The Tennessee Firearms Association says the stores' closures are a real concern, and it adds some stores have also had to run specials and deals they normally wouldn't run, just to stay afloat.

It sounds just like the plot line of a television show- a woman naked and afraid, lost in remote woods. But Lisa Theris’ journey back to civilization was real life and a real struggle that lasted a month in Bullock County.

It sounds just like the plot line of a television show- a woman naked and afraid, lost in remote woods. But Lisa Theris’ journey back to civilization was real life and a real struggle that lasted a month in Bullock County.